Evolution is a very complex idea for students to grasp because there are so many steps that need to be taken to give the full explanation, and it is not something that everyone can accept as having valid points in teaching science. Since evolution is difficult enough, it is even harder for it to mean anything to the students, but by incorporating heredity, creating their own scenarios and having a thought-provoking discussion that requires students to argue from a certain point of view, eventually evolution should have some understanding and connection in their minds.
I think that many students immediately think about us, humans, being the descendents of monkeys when the term evolution comes up. This is probably the biggest assocation people have with the word evolution, which leads some people to believe that evolution denouces Creationism, which is why it can be so controversial in public schools. I hope to show students thaT evolution encompasses so much more that that, and that it is an important block in scientific history that is tied into many other branches of science such as genetics and earth formation. There are many formative assessment throughout these lesson versus summative assessments because it alleviates stress from the students in preparing for huge exams or working long hours on homework. Most of the lessons will have something interactive so the students will have something to remember because of an action they took that was more than writing notes.
The sequence of lessons will hopefully have a chain reaction meaning that students will link the knowledge from each previous lesson so each day they can connect something old to help explain new information. Students probably think of evolution as something that has already happened and has stopped occuring because the evidence is all from events and processes that happened before their time. I want to quide them to see that evolution is still occuring, but one generation's life span is not always enough to observe it in action. What is observable is the change in other species and some of the population shifts that are the initial steps of evolution. Evidence exists in endangered and decreasing species and our own increasing popualtion as humans. I want students to see our role in evolution as we impact the environment and how we effect changes in other species.
I think that many students immediately think about us, humans, being the descendents of monkeys when the term evolution comes up. This is probably the biggest assocation people have with the word evolution, which leads some people to believe that evolution denouces Creationism, which is why it can be so controversial in public schools. I hope to show students thaT evolution encompasses so much more that that, and that it is an important block in scientific history that is tied into many other branches of science such as genetics and earth formation. There are many formative assessment throughout these lesson versus summative assessments because it alleviates stress from the students in preparing for huge exams or working long hours on homework. Most of the lessons will have something interactive so the students will have something to remember because of an action they took that was more than writing notes.
The sequence of lessons will hopefully have a chain reaction meaning that students will link the knowledge from each previous lesson so each day they can connect something old to help explain new information. Students probably think of evolution as something that has already happened and has stopped occuring because the evidence is all from events and processes that happened before their time. I want to quide them to see that evolution is still occuring, but one generation's life span is not always enough to observe it in action. What is observable is the change in other species and some of the population shifts that are the initial steps of evolution. Evidence exists in endangered and decreasing species and our own increasing popualtion as humans. I want students to see our role in evolution as we impact the environment and how we effect changes in other species.
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